Netbooks Continue To Gain In Popularity

Also interesting is that they are invading each others’ price spectrum. I am routinely seeing full size laptops for what I’m paying for netbooks.

So if the criterion is price, the playing field is starting to level a bit.

I find that I’m a bit of a Screen Snob, in that I can’t tolerate much less than 13.3″. I recently set up a pair of Acer Aspires with 11.x” screens (where do they come up with these measurements?). They were almost tolerable, albeit pokey.

So the question is are you going to get your insipid little intel battery sucker with Windows 7: Antifeature Edition, or are you going to get a power efficient ARM-based device with a full blown Linux distribution?

I would seriously hope this upsell game of “Sell them Windows Starter then offer to ‘upgrade’ them to Home Premium for only $80 more” doesn’t take hold.

[...] Netbooks are continuing to gain in popularity and sales. [...]

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I purchased an Asus Eee about 5 months ago and have been toting it to and from work. Very nice little machine, impressed with the build quality. My main program on the little guy is Microsoft’s One Note (2007) - one of the most useful programs ever written, IMHO. However, will I buy another one? Unlikely due to the fact that I simply do not care for the small screen and I detest the touchpad. I could use a Bluetooth mouse with it but the whole idea is easy portability, right? Anyway, my point is I think a lot of people, like me, are buying them out of curiosity, or as a temporary solution to a rough patch in a bad economy, and once the limitations are irritating enough the next purchase will be a more traditional laptop. Great for a kid’s first computer and for someone with simple needs - not so great for serious productivity needs.

Funny how a few years changes things…In 2001, I won (online, through PCWorld) a Dell Inspiron 2100. It’s about 1″ thick, aluminum case, 12″ screen- beautiful. Cons were 256mb max RAM (weird for that timeframe I though?)- but overall, it’s a great “netbook”- very light & easy to carry. It shipped with an external DVD drive w/options for floppy or CD-burner- which could be interchanged to the housing. Outstanding, and looking back, ahead of it’s time. It runs XP flawlessly.

With the advent of cheap USB flash & external drives- and with most people having a second PC with optical drive- the disc drive has become unnecessary for netbooks.

Working in tech retail myself, I sell huge numbers of netbooks- I’d say they comprise roughly 25% of sales. Brands sell in equal numbers, pretty much- Asus, HP, Acer, Dell are currently in-store. Prices range from $548 to just over $1,000AUD. Travelers & students are the market.

Personal pet peeve: reflective screens (vs. matte LCD) are hideous for travelers. Can’t even begin to imagine having to try to use one on a train, straining to see my text with reflections of windows & lights zooming by. Asus eee was the one holdout until it’s current models- they too have gone to the glass screens. I actually sold people on the flat matte in-store, over all the others, because they were non-reflective. Hope someone from Asus reads this…

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.

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[...] Netbooks are continuing to gain in popularity and sales. [...]

I dearly love my Acer Aspire One! I use it a LOT for notetaking in meetings, hopping online at the coffee shop, etc. It stays in my purse all the time. The keyboard is 92% the size of a regular laptop so I don’t feel cramped at all.

I see the new ones have wireless + 3G as well.

It perfectly complements it’s big brother - the Acer 8920G. I tote it on business trips…but it is a BEAST as it is more of a desktop replacement and have grown to rely on the Aspire One so much, it may be the only thing I take with me next time.

[...] Netbooks are continuing to gain in popularity and sales. [...]